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! Historic Litchfield 



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Address Delivered at the Bi-Centennial 

Celebration of the Town of Litchfield, 

August 1, 1920 






By Hon. Morris W. Seymour, Ll.D 




Historic Litchfield 



Address Delivered at the Bi-Centennial 

Celebration of the Town of Litchfield, 

August 1, 1920 



By Hon. Morris W. Seymour, Ll.D 



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PRIVATELY PRINTED 
1920 

Gift 
Author 
OCT 15 1920 



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"Let us now Praise Famous Men — 
Our Fathers that begat us." 

— Ecdus: 44; 1. 



Fellow Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

An attempt to epitomize the events of two hundred 
years in an hour's time is no easy task in any circum- 
stances. It becomes doubly difficult when those years 
are filled with the stirring events that have marked 
the history of this community. I do not hesitate to 
say that no town of an equal number of inhabitants in 
this or any other country has played so conspicuous 
a part in the affairs of a state or nation as has the town 
whose two hundredth birthday we celebrate. Its very 
conception originated in a historic tragedy. Years before 
the settlement of the town, our State officials became 
convinced of the hostility of the English Government and 
its determination to revoke our charter. To frustrate 
this design, in part, and to prevent the "Western Lands," 
as they were called, which embraced the territory of this 
town — in the words of the enactment — "From falling 
into the grasp of Sir Edmund Andros and permitting him 
to enrich himself and his minions," the Legislature, on 
January 26, 1686, ordered the sale of those lands to the 
Towns of Hartford and Windsor. A few years later, 
there dropped from our Royal Oak, in whose bosom safe- 
ly lay concealed our hidden charter, an acorn, which by 
reason of this action of the legislature, sprouted and blos- 
somed forth as the Patent of this Town. 



A company was organized in 1718, upon the petition 
of Lieutenant John Marsh and Deacon John Buel, and 
they, with others, were incorporated by the General As- 
sembly at its May Session, 1719, to settle a town called 
Litchfield on the "Western Lands" at Bantam. These 
original settlers were residents of and men of affairs in 
the Towns of Wethersfield, Hartford, Windsor, Lebanon 
and Farmington. 

Among the list of settlers appear names that we hear 
uttered almost daily in our streets and today are fortunate 
to have some of their descendants still with us — Marsh, 
Buel, Woodruff, Webster, Griswold, Gibbs, Stoddard, 
Sanford and many others. 

The plan of the village has never been materially 
changed. The settlers who had the first choice selected 
the southern portion of the town along the Bantam Riv- 
er and Little Pond, presumably b^^se of the natural 
meadows which gave them hay for their cattle without 
waiting the slow process of clearing the land, — the first 
pitch was the upper corner of South Street and Gallows 
Lane (then called Middle Street), 

Following the usual custom of our Puritan forefathers, 
the original proprietors here built a church and then a 
school house. From those two sources, — that church and 
that school — it is not claiming too much to say there 
emanated two of the greatest reforms the world has ever 
known. The temperance movement, which has culmin- 
atedintheenactment of the Eighteenth Amendment to the 
Constitution, and which has now been declared by the 
Supreme Court at Washington a binding feature through- 
out the length and breadth of our land, seems to have 
been initiated here. 

It has been stated that the very first Temperance Soci- 
ety in the world originated in an organization in Litchfield 
by an association of our citizens in May, 1789, and a 
quite thorough examination of the subject would seem 
to verify the truth of this statement. There certainly 
was a noble collection of gentlemen here at that time 
who did all they could to push forward the temperance 
reform. 



The splendid results did not fully appear until the set- 
tlement of Dr. Lyman Beecher who — though his attack 
in the first instance was from a different angle, and 
directed toward the clergymen themselves — did perhaps 
for that very reason the most effective work. Dr. Beech- 
er's attention was first called to the temperance question 
through his attendance on the Convocation of Ministers 
at the adjoining towns of Plymouth and Sharon. He was 
shocked both at the amount of liquor consumed and its 
effect on the ministers themselves. It was his fervent 
zeal, his sermons and advocacy of the cause that resulted 
in the abolition of liquor in ministerial circles, and called 
the attention of good citizens the world over to the evils 
of intemperance. The Massachusetts Temperance Soci- 
ety, one of the best conducted and strongest in the coun- 
try, is said to have been the direct result of this Litchfield 
movement, having been incorporated just a year after Dr. 
Beecher's philippic. Among the many lessons of the late 
war, none have impressed the people more than that in 
a certain sense we are our brother's keeper, — that rum 
and thrift do not travel together — that "Dutch" courage 
cannot compare with moral courage. Think of this, my 
fellow-citizens! Within the records of yonder Court 
House there is a receipt showing that my own grand- 
father — when High Sheriff of this county — purchased 
with the money of the State seven gallons of rum for the 
refreshment of five of the highest judicial officers of the 
State during five days' session of the Court of Errors ! 
More than a quart per judge per day! Is it to be won- 
dered at that some of their opinions at times seemed mud- 
dled? 

The second great reform which emanated from this 
town and church, the schools established here, and the 
pure air of freedom which we breathe, was the doom of 
slavery, which was sounded when Harriet Beecher Stowe 
wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin." John Brown was born 
just over the line in Torrington in 1800, — no great dis- 
tance from the Beecher Homestead. A man with a mod- 
ern rifle, standing on the Grant farm, could have hit either 



the Beecher Homestead or the John Brown birthplace. 
In the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes: 

"All through the conflict up and down, 

Marched Uncle Tom and old John Brown, 

One ghost, one form ideal; 

And which was false and which was true. 

And which was mightier of the two, 

The wisest sibyl never knew, 

For both alike were real." 

The crowning victory of our Civil War will ever link 
the shores of the Appomattox with the Hills of Litch- 
field, — and to make the chain stronger. General Grant, 
though not born here, was descended from a family that 
for many years lived in and took a great interest in the 
affairs of this town. 

Fortunately for me, the history of the Litchfield Law 
School has been brought before you by a man we all honor 
and who did ample justice to the subject, but, as a loyal 
son of Litchfield and a lawyer, I am proud of the fact and 
wish no one to forget that here was established and car- 
ried on for many years not only the first law school in the 
English-speaking world, but one that has for all time im- 
pressed its methods on the legal profession. It is true that 
at Oxford, Cambridge and other universities law lectures 
were delivered before the establishment of the Litchfield 
Law School, but merely as a part of the polite education 
of a scholar. There was little attempt to teach the eter- 
nal principles of the law or their practical application. 
The influence of the Litchfield Law School was felt 
throughout the world, but of course most of all in our own 
country. Here the scholars both attended lectures and 
recited the lessons they had learned. This it was that 
distinguishes it as the first Law School, a school where 
lessons were taught. That Law School, Miss Pierce's 
School, and the Morris Academy did much to educate our 
people. The late Chief Justice Seymour once said that 
when he entered Congress — as late as 1850 — he was met 
and welcomed by over thirty members of the House, who 
had graduated at the Litchfield Law School or had mar- 
ried women who had graduated at Miss Pierce's School. 
The Morris Academy, under the direction of Captain 



James Morris, a soldier who distinguished himself at the 
capture of Cornwallis, also added materially to the educa- 
tion, interest and influence of the community. 

Naturally all the ecclesiastical and religious sentiment 
of the community centered around the First Ecclesiasti- 
cal Society, the Congregational Church, but as the inhab- 
itants increased other churches were formed. 

Quite early the Episcopalians had the services of a 
missionary here, but in 1745, Mr. John Davies, an English- 
man who had settled in the town and was deeply attached 
to the principles of the established Church of England, 
gathered around him the people of the neighborhood and 
organized St. Michael's Parish, and donated to it a piece 
of land on which subsequently a church was erected. 
From that day to this, not only Litchfield, but New Mil- 
ford has largely benefited by his generosity and the in- 
terest of his family. 

The late Bishop Davies of the Diocese of Michigan, and 
his son, the Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Davies of the Diocese of 
Western Massachusetts, have always taken a great inter- 
est in Litchfield and have often visited here reviving theii 
family interest in the place of settlement of their ances- 
tors in this country. 

St. Michael's Church has had the good fortune of hav- 
ing Rectors distinguished for their piety and ability. Per- 
haps the Rev. Henry R. Hudson, the distinguished Shake- 
spearian scholar, was from a literary point of view, the 
most distinguished. He was Rector of the church for two 
years and subsequently became Shakespearian Professor 
at Harvard University. 

The Roman Catholic Church", St. Anthony's Parish, 
was started largely through the kindly benevolence and 
gifts of Miss Julia Beers, a daughter of the Hon-. Seth 
P. Beers. Late in life she became deeply interested in 
Roman Catholicism, and by her social influence and her 
many devoted friends in the town, she gave the Parish 
an influence that it has ever since retained. 

Our Methodist Brethren ever since 1837 have main- 



tained services here, and have always had an influential 
and devoted congregation. 

Upon the settlement of the town, our forefathers seem 
to have pursued a wise and friendly course towards the 
Indians, and on the whole — notwithstanding a few un- 
pleasant instances — there were no serious conflicts. 

The community seemed to have had no part in the 
first French and Indian War of 1744, commonly called 
Queen Anne's War. On the dispersion of the inhabitants 
of Acadia, so graphically described by the historian Ban- 
croft and the poet Longfellow, some four hundred of 
these unfortunate refugees were sent to Connecticut, and 
by our Legislature, on January 21st, 1755, distributed 
among the different towns of the State. Of these a num- 
ber were sent to Litchfield, as appears of record, and some 
became permanent inhabitants of the town. 

In the last French and Indian War, beginning in 1755, 
and continuing until 1763, the town took not only a con- 
siderable but a distinguished part. 

By reason of the death of Colonel Williams at the bat- 
tle of Lake George, the command of his regiment fell on 
Colonel Whiting, then of the Town of New Haven, but 
subsequently removing to this town. He distinguished 
himself by great coolness, skill and bravery. Colonel 
Whiting's orderly book and sword were valued possessions 
of the Whiting family, who, until within a year, have been 
residents of the town. The Litchfield Company which, un- 
der the command of Captain Archibald McNeill of Colo- 
nel Whiting's Regiment — although not composed exclu- 
sively of inhabitants of the town — was enlisted in this 
immediate vicinity, and its roster contains the names of 
distinguished men from this town, members of whose fam- 
ilies are still living with us — such as the Marshes, Bald- 
wins, Smiths, Gibbs, Catlins, Warners, Lords, Stoddards, 
Beebes, Osborns and Bissells — with many others. 

Dr. Timothy Collins, who had been the first Pastor of 
the Congregational Church of Litchfield, was appointed 
as one of the physicians and surgeons of this Connecticut 
Regiment. 

Of the part taken by the town in the Revolutionary 



War, the difficulty is in determining what to omit. With- 
out instituting comparison, it can safely be said that 
Litchfield did — as she has always done — her full duty. 
Circumstances contributed somewhat to the prominence 
of the town. The control of Long Island Sound and the 
southern shores of our state by the British ships and 
troops necessarily compelled the use of the northern route 
between New England and the western and southern 
parts of our country. General Washington, when desir- 
ous of a consultation with Count Rochambeau at Wethers- 
field, had almost of necessity to pass through Litchfield. 
When a place of safety for provisions, stores and prison- 
ers was required, what better situation could be found 
than among our secluded hills? So, when the Royal 
Governor — Franklin of New Jersey — and Matthews, 
Mayor of New York City, were arrested, and Governor 
Trumbull was requested to detain them, he immediately 
sent them to Major Moses Seymour, who was then acting 
not only as Commissioner of Supplies but of prisoners as 
well — to be detained, and the original warrant for the 
detention of Mayor Matthews is now in the possession of 
Judge Woodruff. 

None of the Colonies' soldiers west of the Connecticut 
River was ordered to Boston at the time of the Lexington 
Alarm. Only those east of the river received orders to 
march, while those on the west side were generally in- 
structed to await orders. At the battles of Lexington, 
Concord and Bunker Hill, if any of our townsmen par- 
ticipated, it was as individuals — as they did when 
Arnold marched to Quebec. But the most thrilling event 
of this time was undertaken by a Litchfield man — born 
in a house still standing if tradition is to be believed — 
Colonel Ethan Allen, who was in command of the troops 
that captured Ticonderoga, and who demanded the sur- 
render of the fortress, — "In the name of the Great Jeho- 
vah and the Continental Congress," nearly fourteen 
months before the Declaration of Independence. 

Before the War, Connecticut had no cavalry regiment, 
as such. Each regiment of infantry had a troop of horse 



attached to it, consisting of one company. Soon after the 
beginning of the War, these companies were consolidated 
in a cavalry regiment and placed under the command of 
Colonel Elisha Sheldon — which regiment soon became the 
pride of the army, and was subsequently reorganized as 
the United States First Dragoons. 

The conspicuous part which that regiment played in 
the War is of common knowledge and need not be dwelt 
upon. When Washington needed protection in his retreat 
from Long Island and through the Jerseys, it was this 
regiment which acted as rear guard and protected 
his retreat through the state. Colonel Sheldon was a dis- 
tinguished and valuable citizen of the town, and I have 
reason to believe that the house in which he lived is still 
standing. 

The pulling down of the equestrian statue of George 
III on the Bowling Green in New York and the bringing 
of it to Litchfield to be moulded into bullets by the fair 
women of our town is an incident too well known to re- 
quire special mention, but it has always seemed to the 
writer to have a semi-comic as well as a tragic side. A 
British soldier maimed by a bullet moulded by Yankee 
Rebel women out of a statue erected to honor his King, 
must have had mingled feelings; his loyalty to the King 
prohibited his having any ill-feeling toward the statue, 
but his respect for the ladies of Litchfield must have been 
considerably lowered. 

When the importance of defeating General Burgoyne 
in his attempt to separate New England from New York 
and the western and southern states became apparent. 
General Schuyler sent word to General Wolcott to hasten 
forward to Albany as many as possible of the Connecticut 
troops. General Wolcott with his usual promptness with- 
out waiting instructions from Gen. Washington or Gov. 
Trumbull, ordered all the Connecticut troops west of the 
Connecticut River to proceed immediately to Albany. 
The Litchfield Troop of Horse, under Major Moses Sey- 
mour, and the Infantry Company, under Captain Beebe, 
marched immediately, and participated in the Battles of 



Stillwater, Bemis Heights and the final victory at Sara- 
toga, which victory Cressey — in his enumeration of the 
famous battles of the world — includes as one of the most 
important. 

There is an interesting and prophetic incident related 
of the banquet to which General Gates invited General 
Burgoyne and his officers, after the surrender, at which 
General Burgoyne in response to a request for a toast, 
after some hesitation, arose and said : "I give you England 
and America against the world." 

At the attacks on Danbury and New Haven, our Litch- 
field soldiers rushed to the assistance of both places. 
From Danbury down to the place of debarkation at Com- 
po Beach, they pursued, attacked and harrassed Tryon's 
troops, capturing and killing many of them. 

Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, aide de camp to General 
Washington, and one of the most distinguished officers 
of the Revolution, deserves more attention than we have 
time to give to his many valuable services. His part in 
the trial and execution of Major Andre called the atten- 
tion of the British, French and American commanders to 
his every action, and excited universal approbation. His 
firmness, benevolent judgment and kindly care of Andre, 
and his irresistible outburst of tears as that splendid Brit- 
ish officer swung into eternity from the ignominious gib- 
bet, gave complete evidence of the tenderness of his dis- 
position — but which could not swerve his fidelity to duty. 
After the War he returned to his home here, and shortly 
after was elected to Congress where again he rendered 
valuable services to the nation. 

In the War with Mexico, although New England was 
not particularly enthusiastic in its prosecution, Connecti- 
cut did its part. It was a Litchfield boy, Henry W. Wes- 
sells, subsequently became a General in the Regular 
Army, who — while a brave Connecticut Colonel was pull- 
ing down the Mexican flag and raising the Stars and 
Stripes over the Mexican stronghold, the fortress of 
Chapultepec — stood beside him and protected him from 
assault. 



In the Civil War, our town did its full duty. The Con- 
necticut Nineteenth Regiment was recruited, encamped 
and trained on Chestnut Hill, and marched away to join 
the Army of the Potomac under command of our towns- 
man, Colonel Leverett W. Wessells. No finer body of men 
ever left the State. At Manassas, Cold Harbor, Spottsyl- 
vania, Winchester, Hanover Court House, Cedar Creek, 
City Point, Hatchet's Run, Petersburg and Fisher Hill, it 
earned a glorious and well-deserved reputation for brav- 
ery and faithful service. It was early transferred into 
an artillery regiment, the Second Connecticut Heavies, as 
it was called, and placed under the command of Colonel 
E. S. Kellogg, and subsequently R. S. MacKenzie of the 
Engineers. Under their command the Second Connecticut 
Heavies became one of the most useful and distinguished 
regiments of the Civil War. Colonel Kellogg was killed 
while attacking General Longstreet's veteran corps at 
Cold Harbor. Of our citizens, the names connected with 
this Regiment that comes to one's mind most intimately 
are the beloved Clerk of the Superior Court, Dwight C. 
Kilbourn, of Hinsdale, Shumway, Bissell, Smith, Stone, 
Morse, Wadhams, Plumb, Wheeler and many more we 
knew and loved. 

In the Spanish War, when the American Fleet was 
attacking Manila and the German ships of war seemed 
to be intentionally blocking its way, it was our fellow- 
citizen. Rear Admiral Colvocoresses, loved and respected 
by all of us, who ably assisted Admiral Dewey — both 
equally willing to fight Germany if necessary. It would 
perhaps have been as well for the world had our war with 
Germany begun then and there. 

Though this is a sketch dealing with Litchfield's past, 
I would not be true to its traditions if I omitted to men- 
tion the shining glory of those boys of ours who laid down 
their lives in France for their country, for democracy and 
the good of mankind in the World War — Morgan, Weir, 
Devines, Jefferies, Catty, Cornwall, Donahue, Guinchi, 
Sherry and Zarotti. I like to think it was the spirit of 
Litchfield and their loyalty to the best traditions of this 

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town that made them "go over" and "carry on" so nobly. 

As brilliant and effective as were the efforts of our fore- 
fathers on the battlefields of the Republic, the record of 
their civic achievements in no way fades by comparison. 

Connecticut sent our fellow-citizen Oliver Wolcott, to 
sign the Declaration of Independence, and after his re- 
turn from Congress he was elected Governor of the State 
and served for two years. When Presidents Washington 
and Adams needed a man as Secretary of the Treasury 
of the United States, to assist Alexander Hamilton in 
straightening out the financial affairs of the nation after 
the Revolution, — they turned to Litchfield and selected 
Oliver Wolcott, Jr., son of the Governor, for that impor- 
tant duty, who on his return was elected Governor, of 
the State, a position he occupied some ten years. The only 
other Governor of the State from Litchfield was the late 
Charles B. Andrews, at one time Chief Justice of the 
State. 

Connecticut has chosen five Chief Justices of the State 
from residents of this town, — Andrew Adams, Tapping 
Reeve, Samuel Church, Origen S. Seymour and Charles 
B. Andrews. Eight Justices of our Superior Court 
have also come from our town. Two United States 
Senators, ten Members of Congress, seven Members of 
the Council, besides numerous Chief Justices and Judges 
of the County Court, with ten High Sheriffs of the County. 

When the State of New York desired a man to associate 
with DeWitt Clinton on the construction of the Erie 
Canal, they selected Henry Seymour formerly of Litch- 
field, then a resident of Utica. 

A complete list of the important offices filled by Litch- 
field men would take too long to recite. 

The social life of the town could hardly be otherwise 
than agreeable and attractive. Litchfield has ever wel- 
comed the refined educated person, and extended to him 
or her its warmest welcome. The heads of its families 
were not only well educated men and women, but usually 
occupied high social position in the state and nation. The 
young people in attendance at Miss Pierce's, the Law 



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School and the Morris Academy were of the same high 
type collected from all the various States of the Union. 
There was enough serious work to occupy their time and 
give zest to their hours of rest and recreation. Mrs. Van- 
derpoel in her delightful book, "A Pioneer's School" has 
collected many graphic descriptions of the amusements 
and pleasant times that they enjoyed. 

Samuel Goodrich, writing under the name of Peter Par- 
ley, has this to say, "Litchfield Hill was in fact not only 
one of the most elevated features in the physical forma- 
tion of the State, but one of the focal points of literature 
and enlightenment." He goes on to tell of an incident in 
reference to Dr. Lyman Beecher, which speaks volumes 
for the common sense of the good old Doctor: One eve- 
ning Dr. Beecher was returning home, having in his hand 
a volume of Rees' Encyclopedia which he had just pur- 
chased from the book store. On his way he met a skunk 
and threw the book at him, upon which the animal retali- 
ated with such effect that when the Doctor reached home 
he was in a very shocking plight. Sometime after, having 
been bitterly assailed and abused by an opponent, his 
friends advised him to reply. "No," said the Doctor, "I 
once discharged a quarto at a skunk and I got the worst 
of it. I do not wish to try it again." The witticisms of the 
town were proverbial, and did time permit to repeat, 
though often before repeated, would be enjoyable. To 
me the reply of Senator Tracy to Senator Randolph of 
Virginia has always seemed a nearly perfect specimen of 
wit. Senator Randolph hastily called Senator Tracy to 
the window of the Senate Chamber to see some of his 
"Connecticut Constituents." Senator Tracy came to the 
window as a drove of mules was being driven by. Turn- 
ing to Senator Randolph he said, "Oh yes, they are going 
down to Virginia to teach school." 

There is also that delightfully witty repartee of the 
Senator which so gallantly described for all time the la- 
dies of Litchfield. Mr. Lister, the then British Ambassa- 
dor, who was thoroughly English in his ideas, said to Gen- 



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eral Tracy, "your countrywoman — Mrs. Wolcott — would 
be admired even at St. James." "Sir," retorted Senator 
Tracy, "she is admired even on Litchfield Hill." 

My friends, I have mentioned only a few of the men 
whose character and attainments have contributed to the 
upbuilding of this town, of our state and of our nation. 
Not to forgetfulness of their worth but to lack of time 
must omissions be attributed. Many are the names among 
our forefathers that set an example of Godly living, 
loyalty and patriotism which never can be surpassed. 
May we and our descendants be as faithful when called to 
serve our God, our country and our town. 



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LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



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